The Daughter of the Sea
by KathleenvLeFiles
Summary: Sequel to The Princess of War, the love interests of Tamara Hope and Tina Gonzalez have been kidnapped by the evil Egyptian goddess Isis, who is seeking revenge after her plans for becoming all-powerful were ruined. Now the two best friends must venture on another quest to rescue their boyfriends, but they find so much more than that, and come closer to the truth of it all.
1. Chapter One

**CHAPTER ONE**

Everyone around me sang campfire songs quietly, not really in the mood for singing. The campfire was low and a dark purple. Yeah, I said dark purple. It's a magical fire that reflects the mood of the campers around it.

My name is Tina Gonzalez, the daughter of Poseidon. I know that sounds crazy, that the mythological gods are real and all, but it's true. And not only am I a child of a god, but so is everyone else sitting around me.

So, why are we all so sad? Archer Mason, a son of Apollo and my boyfriend, and Ben Troy, a son of Mars, had been kidnapped by someone who we had once called a friend. The story leading up to their abduction is a very long one, so I'll tell you the short version.

I arrived at Camp Half-Blood with my friend, Tamara Hope, a week ago, when Archer saved us from a sphinx attack. The very day we arrived at camp, I was claimed during a game of capture the flag. Tamara, however, was discovered to be the daughter of the Egyptian god Horus, and Dakota Storm, an Egyptian, took her to a training facility in Brooklyn.

While she was away, I learned how to fight with a sword while my half-brother, Percy Jackson, taught me how to control my water powers. The second day I was at camp, our Oracle announced to the whole camp that Zeus had been taken by an unknown person. She issued a prophecy of a quest to save Zeus. A son of arrows, a daughter of the sea, and a princess of war would go on the quest. Archer and I were the first two people,and Tamara happened to be the third. So we set out to find Zeus, Dakota tagging along to help Tamara if her unbelievable powers got out of control.

We traveled from New York to Texas to the Underworld in Mexico and all the way to Hawaii. There in Hawaii, we found Zeus and his captors. It happened to be Tamara's father, Horus, and his mother, Isis. After an epic battle, with all of us nearly dying, we discovered that Horus was being controlled by a demon that Isis had planted in him. Isis had been behind the whole plan all along, trying to claw her way to being the ultimate queen of _all_ the gods. Horus had banished her, and I had thought we would have at least a few weeks of peace. We didn't even get a day. The very night we got back to Camp Half-Blood, Archer had taken me for a walk in the strawberry fields. There, we had shared our first kiss and he had asked me to be his girlfriend. I, of course, had said yes and had been the happiest girl on earth. But when I woke up the next morning, Archer and Ben were both gone, and all that was left was a note from Dakota.

I felt tears fill my eyes again. Every time I thought about it. . . . We had thought Dakota was our friend, Tamara and I both. But now he had decided to work for Isis, all because Tamara had chosen to be with Ben over him.

Someone touched my shoulder, and I looked up from staring at the dark purple flames. Tamara stood there, her eyes and nose red. She had been crying, probably thinking about how she had gained and lost Ben in less than twenty-four hours.

"Hey," I said, my voice hoarse.

"Hi," she said back.

I scooted over in my seat so she could sit down.

"How are you feeling?" I asked her.

"Not great. You?"

"Not so good either."

Okay, I know. Obviously we felt terrible, but we asked anyway. We both sat there, staring into the flames and trying to keep tears down.

So, now you ask the question, "Why aren't you out there looking for them?"

We had been. Tamara and I and a bunch of other people had gone out on a huge search for two whole days. We had sent people all over the United States, but we couldn't find Archer and Ben. And after a group of demigods were attacked and nearly killed by a dragon, our camp director had called us back and said no more search parties.

I felt anger coarse through me. How could Chiron say that! One of his campers was missing and he had declared no more searches! At least the Egyptian magicians were still looking, searching for Dakota, who happened to be their leader's son.

"Alright everyone!" Chiron said. He was in centaur form, his white stallion body reflecting the purple fire's flames. "Everyone go back to your cabins. It's late and we all have training in the morning." Our director looked at me and Tamara.

I glared at him. Tamara next to me, started radiating heat. I mean literally. She had unbelievable powers, being the daughter of Horus. A child of an Egyptian god had been unheard of until she came along, and she had inherited some powers from her father. She could summon a fifteen-foot avatar and smash anyone in her way. Not only that, but she had inborn magician powers as well. She was an elementalist, meaning she could control water, earth, fire, and air. And even that wasn't enough. On top of that, she had received a blessing from her grandfather, Zeus, only a few days ago, and had been given powers over rain and lightning. Several times a day, a random gray cloud would hover over Tamara's head and rain softly as she cried. When she got angry, it was best to stay away from her. She either lost control of her powers and she turned into a golden glowing giant who smashed everything, or there was a lightning storm. When Chiron had told us that there would be no more search parties, she had gotten so angry a huge bolt of lightning had struck the Big House roof and blown it to bits. It was kind of scary, having a friend who was that powerful. I mean, Percy was a _very_ powerful demigod, and I had only touched the tip of the iceberg when using my powers. But Tamara was like me and Percy combined.

Tamara and I got up from our seats and started walking with the rest of the campers along the trail leading away from the amphitheater. We reached a fork in the path, one way leading to the Big House, where Tamara was staying, and one way leading to the cabins. We gave each other watery smiles as we parted ways and I turned down my path. I froze at what I saw. Standing in the middle of the path, staring at me with bright-yellow eyes, was a black jaguar. It would have blended into the dark of the night, had it not been for its eyes. It just stared at me, like it was waiting for me to make the first move. I looked out of the corner of my eye to see if Tamara had noticed. She hadn't. I looked back at the jaguar, and it was gone, like it had never been there.

 _Okay,_ I thought. _You were just imagining things. You've just reached your emotional breaking point, that's all._

I started walking again, trying to push the jaguar out of my head, when I saw it again. Its body was facing the direction of the forest, but its head was turned back to me. It stared at me with its yellow eyes, and I got the weird feeling that it wanted me to follow it. I turned my head to see where Tamara was. She was almost to the porch of the Big House.

"Tamara!" I hissed quietly. "Tamara, come here!"

She turned her head to look at me and her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. I waved her over and after a few seconds of hesitation, she finally jogged over.

"Tina, what's wrong?" she asked me.

I pointed a finger over to where the jaguar stood. Tamara stared in the direction I was pointing, but didn't seem to see anything.

"Tina, there's nothing over there. Are you. . . ." Her words died off.

The jaguar had turned back to look at us yet again and then started walking quickly into the forest.

"Is that a jaguar?" Tamara asked.

"Yes, and I think it wants us to follow it."

Tamara looked at me. "Um, it's just a jaguar. I'm concerned as to why it's in the camp, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't care if we follow it or not."

But I had a gut feeling. The way the cat had looked at me with its eyes, as though it had something important to tell me, made me certain that I needed to follow it.

I started jogging after the cat.

"Tina, really?" Tamara asked. "You're really going to follow that thing into the forest? At night? You know that this is the time when the monsters come out!"

"Exactly!" I said over my shoulder. "Which is the very reason why you should come with me, in case I'm attacked."

Tamara sighed loudly but ran after me. "But I don't have my sword!"

I laughed dryly. "Tamara, we both know you don't need it. We'll be fine."

We ran down the hill, trying to catch up with the cat. It had stopped walking at the edge of the forest and was looking at us, waiting. When we got within five-feet of it, it started walking again, entering the dark trees.

Tamara and I looked at each other before stepping into the forest. As soon as we did, it was like the whole world had gone black. I pulled my hairpin out of my pocket and pressed the tiny pearl that was embedded in it. My bronze sword appeared in my hand, a gift from my father. The faint glow of the blade offered a little bit of light. Next to me, Tamara muttered something in Egyptian and a golden orb of light appeared in her hand.

We followed the cat through the forest, remaining quiet so no monsters would detect us. Dry leaves crunched under our feet and twigs snapped. I cringed every time one of us stepped on a twig, expecting some nasty monster to come out at us. Thankfully, no monsters came, and we followed the cat deeper and deeper into the forest.

"Where do you think it's leading us?" Tamara whispered.

"I don't know," I whispered back, feeling a nervous knot form in my stomach. What if the cat turned out to be some huge monster in disguise? Or worse. What if. . . .

"Tamara, you don't think that jaguar is working for Isis, do you?"

Tamara stopped walking and thought. In the light of her orb, her red hair looked like it was on fire.

"No, I don't think so. Isis can't get into the camp without permission, which will never be given to her. And a jaguar isn't one of her symbols. But, if you want to turn back, I'd be happy to. I still think that this is a really bad idea."

I shook my head. If Tamara didn't think the jaguar was working for Isis, then I wanted to keep going. This cat was definitely leading us somewhere for a reason.

We kept walking and the trees started changing around us. They were getting older and older. Dead leaves were in piles all around us. Something moved in a bush and we froze, but it was only a squirrel scampering to a tree.

Finally, the black cat stopped walking. It turned and looked at us. We slowly walked up to it. It brushed its head against my hand, and I tentatively ran my hand across its head.

"Where are we?" Tamara asked.

The cat had led us to a clearing in the forest. Younger looking trees made a circle around us. Under our feet was green grass instead of dead leaves and a small stream of water cut through the grass like a blue snake. In the middle of the clearing was a gigantic tree. It was so tall that I could barely see the top of it. The the trunk was so big around that I imagined you could fit at least twenty, maybe thirty demigods in it. It was so peaceful and calm.

"Where have you taken us?" I asked the jaguar. It had plopped down by my feet and was grooming its fur.

"Ah, he was following my request," a silky woman's voice said.

Tamara and I whirled around to look at the huge tree. A woman in a pure white dress was leaning against it. She was barefoot, her nails painted a light pink. Her skin was flawless. No wrinkles, no red spots, nothing. It looked like she had popped out of a fashion magazine, except her flawless face didn't look like the result of plastic surgery. Her skin itself was pale, with a slight tint of pink in it. Her lips were full and red, her eyes were a kaleidoscope of colors, changing from blue, to green, to hazel, to brown. Her hair seemed to change color and length too. One moment it was short and brown and then long and blond. She was like a forever morphing person, always changing her looks, all of which were gorgeous and flawless.

"Who are you?" Tamara asked.

The woman smiled a dazzling smile. "A friend who is _very_ interested in both of your lives."

Tamara sighed next to me. I knew what she was thinking. The woman hadn't answered Tamara's question.

The woman laughed quietly at our frustration and held out her hand. The jaguar at my feet stood up and walked over to the woman, rubbing its head affectionately on her legs.

"Really," I said. "who are you?"

The woman turned and looked at us, her eyes staying a piercing shade of blue.

My name is Aphrodite, the goddess of love."


	2. Chapter Two

**CHAPTER TWO**

My shoulders tensed at the sound of her name. I had heard stories about this goddess. During breaks in between my training sessions, Percy's fiancee, Annabeth Chase, had hung out with me. We had walked around camp, sharing stories. Mostly, it was Annabeth talking, telling about the quests she had shared with Percy. Annabeth intrigued me. As a daughter of the goddess Athena, Annabeth had struck me as a cold person upon our first meeting. With her storm-gray eyes that seemed to pierce a person's soul, she had seemed very judgmental. Only later did I learn that as a child of Athena, she was always sizing people up. It was just a part of who she was. After I had been claimed and found out to be Percy's half-sister, she had made a effort to connect with me, which I had accepted gratefully. What with Tamara leaving for the Kane Mansion, I had felt very alone. Percy had made time for me when he could, but he was mostly training demigods in the sword arena. So Annabeth had spent time with me. During one of her stories, Annabeth had brought up Aphrodite. Apparently, Aphrodite had caused a lot of trouble for her and Percy, back when they were fifteen and sixteen years old. Aphrodite had put other people in their lives and what seemed like insurmountable obstacles between the two, hindering Percy and Annabeth from becoming a couple. Then, once they had become a couple, Percy had been taken away, much like what had happened to Tamara and I. Though it had been the goddess Hera who had taken Percy, Annabeth still felt as though Aphrodite had had some part in it.

And now, here the was the goddess, telling Tamara and I she was interested in our lives.

Not good.

"Aphrodite," Tamara asked. "what do you want?"

Aphrodite laughed lightly and walked over to us. "So defensive, Tamara Hope."

"Well, yeah. I get wary when a goddess is interested in my life," Tamara said coldly.

"But both of your stories are so interesting!" Aphrodite said brightly.

I gritted my teeth, Annabeth's warning echoing inside my head.

 _Don't mess with Aphrodite. She makes things a lot harder than they need to be._

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Well, dear, I've been watching both of you for a while now. Such pretty girls. Although, Tamara, if you wore some eyeshadow it would make your eyes pop out more. And Tina, dear, you really should wear aqua-blue more. It really compliments your skin."

I shook my head at her advice. "We don't want your help, Aphrodite. I've heard stories about you."

Aphrodite sighed, like this disappointed her. "Annabeth has told you things about me, hasn't she?"

I nodded.

"Well, while they are all true, they really do make wonderful stories. I mean, it's pretty romantic how Percy jumped into Tartarus just to be with Annabeth, don't you think?"

"Percy did _what_?" Tamara asked, aghast.

"I know, right?" Aphrodite said. "Isn't that the most romantic thing ever?"

"Well, it sounds kind of stupid to me," Tamara said. "I would have just pulled Annabeth up with me and. . . ."

"But what kind of story would that have been?" Aphrodite asked, shocked. "It's so sweet that he was willing to die for her!"

I exchanged a look with Tamara and rolled my eyes. This goddess was crazy!

"Anyways," Aphrodite said. "as I was saying, I'm interested in both of you. Tamara, honey, Ben is such a good match for you! He's absolutely gorgeous! And, Tina, you and Archer look so cute together! It brings tears to my eyes when I think about it."

Tears did indeed filled Aphrodite's eyes and she blinked them away.

"Did you have something to do with their disappearance?" Tamara questioned.

"Oh, heavens no!" Aphrodite said. "That was all that goddess Isis's doing, with the help of Dakota. By the way, Tamara, I actually had Dakota picked out for you first. Didn't you know how good the two of you looked together?"

Tamara started glowing. I quickly backed away from her. This sign usually led to her avatar forming and from there it was very hard to calm her down.

"Oh, don't get all worked up, dear!" Aphrodite said. "I still approve of you and Ben."

"Come on, Tina. We're wasting our time here," Tamara growled. She turned to walk away, and I was going to follow her, when Aphrodite said, "Oh, I wouldn't leave quite yet."

"And why is that?" Tamara asked.

"Because I know the general location of where Ben and Archer are being kept," Aphrodite said with a sly voice.

Tamara and I whirled around to look at her.

"You know where they are?" I asked.

"Well, of course! I am a goddess after all!"

"If you're a goddess," Tamara said. "then why didn't you and the other gods go save Zeus yourselves?"

"Because, that's a job for demigods!" Aphrodite said. "And besides, you two bonded with the boys so much during that quest!"

I balled my fist. "We could have bonded just as much while _not_ going on the quest," I said.

Aphrodite snapped her head to look at me and Tamara. She smiled tightly. "Girls, I've been patient with the two of you, but I'm reaching my breaking point. Now, if you want to know the details as to where your boys are, you'll keep your mouths shut."

Tamara opened her mouth to say something, but then shut it. Aphrodite looked between the two of us and nodded,

"Right, that's better. Now, I'll only give you two this information if you promise me something."

Tamara and I exchanged a look.

"What's that?" I asked.

"You girls have to do this alone."

"What do you mean?" Tamara asked. "Do what alone?"

"Ah ah ah, you promise me, and then I'll tell you. Do we have a deal?"

Tamara and I yet again looked at each other. What was Aphrodite up to? Did we really want to agree to something when we didn't know what we were walking into? Then again, if Aphrodite had even a shred of information, we wanted to hear about it. If this was the way to get it, then we were going to do it.

"Okay," I said. "we promise."

"Excellent!" Aphrodite said. "Now, Isis is keeping Ben and Archer deep within the jungles of Puerto Rico."

I felt like I had been punched in the gut. Puerto Rico? Really? Isis had taken my boyfriend and Ben to my homeland?

Tamara looked at me with a puzzled expression, but Aphrodite nodded.

"Yes, Tina. Archer and Ben are being kept there. You may have to retrace some of your steps to find them. And, that letter Zeus gave you might be helpful."

"Tina, _what_ is she talking about?" Tamara asked.

Her words went in one ear and out the other. I couldn't register anything. Keeping the boys near my home was like a insult. In the back of my mind, I swore I could hear Isis's cold laughter.

"It's nothing," I said dismissively.

Tamara stared at me, giving me a we-will-talk-later-and-you- _will_ -spill look.

"Now, let's see," Aphrodite said thoughtfully. She tilted her head like she was running through a mental list. "You girls will need money, food, clothes. . . . We'll have to leave a letter to Chiron of course."

I looked at Aphrodite. "Um—what are you taking about? We'll just go tell Chiron ourselves."

Aphrodite waved her finger at me. "Mm, no. You run off and tell Chiron, and he won't let the two of you go unless a boy went with you. And that would ruin the story!"

"What story?" Tamara asked.

"Why, yours and Tina's! Don't you see how romantic it will be when the two of you go rescue the boys? Of course, I'll have to throw some complications in there for fun."

I felt my face heat with anger. "Wait, you're doing this so we can _entertain_ you? Like a TV show?"

"Exactly! You and Tamara will be the talk of Olympus!"

Tamara next to me contained a scream. In her hand, a ball of fire appeared, and it burned brightly. The flame's light illuminated Aphrodite's face. The goddess smiled sweetly and blew at the flame. It went out.

"Now, daughter of Horus, there won't be any of that. You wanted information on dear sweet Ben, and this is what it is. You just have to accept it on my terms."

"Aphrodite, this is crazy," I said. "I don't want to be rude, but you're making a TV show out of our lives. I mean, I know there are reality TV shows, but even those shows have directors telling the people what to do."

"Daughter of Poseidon, may I remind you that I am a goddess?" she asked. Aphrodite's eyes turned a golden color and they glowed.

I stared back at her, testing the goddess. Finally, she sighed and her anger died away.

"Now, the two of you must be off as soon as possible. I hope you like what I picked out for you. I'm pretty sure I've given you everything you need."

Tamara looked alarmed. "Wait, what are you doing?"

"Why, giving you a little transportation. I'm sure you've done this before. Have a safe trip!" Aphrodite smiled sweetly and snapped her fingers.

My vision went white and I felt like my stomach had dropped out of my body. I felt like I was on a roller coaster that had just started its descent down a steep drop. Then, out of nowhere, I found myself falling through the night sky to an ocean below. Next to me, Tamara was screaming. I didn't catch what she said, but I was pretty sure she was saying something mean about the goddess.

The cold wind blew my hair back as we plummeted to the sea below us. I thought in my head, _I hate Aphrodite._

We crashed into the the warm ocean and I had to catch myself from holding my breath. I didn't need to, since I could breathe underwater. However, the first time I had tried using that power, I had nearly drowned myself. Percy had had to pull me out of the water and do CPR, but after several more tries, I had finally managed to breathe underwater. I was still nervous about it though. What if I forgot how to do it? I mean, it came naturally to me, but if I panicked, I could accidentally drown myself.

I looked around in the dark water and saw Tamara. She was slowly sinking to the sandy bottom. I swam to her and put her arm around my shoulders. Then I willed the currents to push us to shore. We collapsed onto the beach. I gasped, taking in deep breaths of fresh air. Next to me, Tamara started coughing up water.

"I," she gasped. "am slapping that goddess next time I see her."

In my mind, I agreed with her. What was Aphrodite thinking, sending us to Puerto Rico without telling Chiron and making us promise we were going to rescue the boys ourselves? That goddess was seriously crazy.

I looked around. The beach around us was empty, except for right ahead of us. Standing there all cheerful, like the goddess herself, was a bright pink umbrella that stood out even in the night's darkness. Etched in white on the umbrella was a huge heart. Tamara and I looked at each other and slowly got to our feet. The umbrella could only be for us.

We trudged to the umbrella and collapsed under it. I felt my eyes closing and I had only enough time to hope Aphrodite was going to protect us through the night before I blacked out.


	3. Chapter Three

**CHAPTER THREE**

As a demigod, I tended to have weird dreams. And I hated them, because they always seemed to show me something that had happened, what was happening, or what was going to happen.

In my dream, I was in a jungle. It was so thick with green plants and trees that I could barely see what was in front of me. I was jogging through them, not knowing where I was going, but I felt like I needed to get there as soon as possible. I crashed through some huge palm leaves and froze. I was standing next to the entrance of a cave. It gaped at me, like a mouth ready to consume me. Coming from within it, I could hear voices. They echoed off of the walls, making it hard to tell how many people were talking. I crept closer, debating if I should go in or not.

"You will do as I say!" a voice screeched.

I jumped back and got ready to bolt. The voice sounded really angry.

"No! I'm not telling you anything!" another voice said.

That voice sounded really familiar, and I racked my brain for who the owner was.

From within the cave, I could hear a sound like a whip cracking. Someone cried out in pain. Another voice said, "Leave him alone! You're going to kill him!"

I gasped. I knew that voice anywhere. It was Archer. And if Archer was there, then the other boy must be Ben!

Without thinking, I jogged as quietly as I could into the cave. Inside, I had to navigate my way through rocks that had piled up on the cave floor. I tried as best as I could not to make any fall.

"Tell me, now!" the woman's voice said.

I now knew that it was Isis. The thought of her made me so angry. She had whisked away my boyfriend the moment I had gotten him, all because she wanted to be in complete control over all of the gods.

Another crack of the whip. Archer cried out in pain, and I had to keep myself from crying out with him.

"You better do as she says," a new voice said.

It was Dakota's. That traitor, abandoning us all because Tamara didn't feel the same way about him as he did her. I wanted to slap him so hard he would see double for a week.

"What will you do if we don't?" Archer questioned.

"Tamara and Tina? Yeah, I'll find them. Hunt them down and kill them right when they don't see it coming."

"You wouldn't dare," Ben said angrily. "I thought you loved Tamara."  
"Not anymore! Not after she took my heart and broke it into a million pieces! But maybe I'll keep her alive. Hurting you would inflict more pain on her than dying," Dakota said wickedly.

I sucked in a sharp breath. This sounded nothing at all like the Dakota I had met a few days ago. The Old Dakota had been kind and caring and protective. This New Dakota sounded just as evil as Isis. He was willing to kill me and Tamara just to get revenge for his pain. It made me sick, and I questioned if he had really loved Tamara as much as he claimed. If he truly had loved her, then he would not have betrayed her like this.

There was silence, and finally Ben said, "Fine, we'll talk. Just don't hurt Tamara or Tina."

"I thought you would come around," Isis said, pleased.

I made my way through the rocks and sneaked up along a wall. A fire's light danced along one wall, and I saw Isis's shadow. I crept around the corner, and what I saw made my heart hurt.

It was a small cavern within the cave. Along the walls, someone had painted hieroglyphics in red paint. At least, I hoped it was paint. Assorted weapons were piled up in the back. Axes, Egyptian swords, called _khopeshes,_ knives. . . . They all looked extremely sharp, and I could imagine how painful it would be if one cut your skin.

Standing in the center of the cavern was Isis. The last time I had seen her, she had been wearing a white dress with a golden crown perched on her head. (A crown that Tamara had risked her life to retrieve.) Now, the goddess was dressed in a blood red dress. She no longer had her golden crown on her head, but a black one that seemed to be moving. I stared at it, and realized that three slimy black snakes had been woven together and placed on her head. They hissed and flicked their black tongues, like they were laughing. In Isis's hand, she held a whip. It was black leather, probably six-feet long. At the end, the whip split into two, and each end had huge nails strapped to them.

I felt myself cringe. Isis was hitting Archer and Ben with that? I couldn't believe that they weren't dead already.

I tore my gaze away from Isis and looked at the back wall. I sobbed. Archer and Ben were there, hanging from steel cuffs that clung to the ceiling. Their shirts had been torn off and lay at their feet in shreds. Their faces glistened with sweat, and all over their bodies were cuts. I'm not talking about little tiny cuts either. These were long and deep, blood gushing out of them, flowing down their bodies, and pooling on the cave floor. Both of the boys' ribs were showing. They looked determined though, their eyes hard and cold as they fought their pain.

I wanted so badly to go run to Archer, but then I reminded myself that I couldn't. Though this was a dream, I had learned a while ago that a part of me was _actually_ there, watching this. Isis or Dakota could hurt me if I suddenly jumped out into their sight and they sensed my presence.

Speaking of Dakota . . . I looked around the cavern and finally spotted him. He was leaning up against the last wall of the cavern, watching as Isis whipped Archer and Ben. A pleased smile was on his face, like he enjoyed the pain the boys were receiving. He no longer wore jeans and a tee shirt. Now, Dakota was dressed in black pants and black combat boots. Over his black shirt, he wore black leather armor. Strapped to his side was his _khopesh_ , except instead of the blade being gold, now it was as black as night. This guy had completely changed his allegiance. If Tamara had even a shred of hope that he was still good, she needed to forget it. Dakota didn't even look like Dakota anymore. He didn't even sound like him. His voice was now low and cruel, every word coming out of his mouth hateful.

"Now," Isis said. "you're going to tell me exactly where I can find Zeus's source of power. Don't deny it that he has one; every god does."

"Look, we have _no_ clue as to where it is!" Ben said.

"Liar!" Isis snapped, whipping him. The whip slashed across his face, leaving a gash across his jawline.

"I'm not lying!" he cried. "We really have no clue as to where it is!"

Isis raised her hand to whip him again when Dakota said, "Stop! I don't think they know where it is."

Isis glared at him and then finally consented. "Alright, well then why do I need these boys? If they don't have the information I need, then it's time for them to die."

"You're forgetting one thing," Dakota pointed out. "They're leading Tamara and Tina straight to us. Two of the most powerful demigods are willingly coming to you."

Isis slowly smiled and nodded in understanding. "Then we'll let them come. Keep these boys alive, but just barely."

Archer and Ben struggled against their cuffs, shouting at Isis to leave me and Tamara alone. Isis laughed evilly, and the dream started to dissolve.

"Tina," someone said. "Tina, wake up."

I was so taken by surprise that I snapped my eyes open and jumped to my feet. "What? What's going on?"

"Tina, it's me," Tamara said.

I looked at her, my heart racing. That dream had definitely been the weirdest and scariest dream I had ever had.

"What's going on?" I asked again.

"You were having a bad dream. Like, a really bad one," Tamara said. "You kept crying out Archer's name in your sleep, and mumbling about _khopeshes_ , whips, knives . . . what happened?"

I breathed in and out deeply, trying to calm my racing heart. I sat down next to Tamara and looked into her worry-filled eyes. "I had a dream about where Archer and Ben are," I started.

"You did?" Tamara asked excitedly. "Where are they?"

"I don't know the exact location," I said. "They're being kept in a cave somewhere deep within a jungle."

"A cave?" Tamara asked. "How many caves are there in Puerto Rico?"

I looked at her gravely. "A lot."

Tamara's shoulders slumped, some of her hope fading away. "Okay, so what happened in this cave?"

"I saw Archer and Ben. They're hanging from the ceiling by these steel cuffs. They look bad, Tamara. You can see their ribs and they have gashes all over their bodies."

"Gashes? From what?"

"Isis. She's been whipping them with this whip that has nails on the end of it."

Tamara face paled. "Go on."

"They looked exhausted. They're fighting the pain, but barely. Right before my dream ended, Isis's whipped Ben across the face. He's got a cut along his jawline now."

Tamara, without realizing it, traced her jawline with her fingers. "And Isis?"  
"She's changed. She's wearing a red dress and has a crown of snakes on her head. She looks nothing like what she did a few days ago."

"Did you see Dakota?" Tamara finally asked.

I detected a tone of hope in her voice.

"I did. Tamara, he's gone, for good. He's wearing black armor, his _khopesh's_ blade is black now. And the way he talks, everything he says is cruel."

Tamara stared past me and out at the ocean. I knew I had torn down her hope of Dakota still being good, but she needed to know.

"Maybe he's possessed," Tamara finally said. "Maybe Isis planted a demon in him like she did to Horus."

I looked at her, doubtful. "Maybe," I said for her sake. I looked away from her piercing-hazel eyes and at our surroundings.

We were sitting under the pink umbrella that Aphrodite had provided us. Not many people were out, I could see a few surfers out in the ocean, but otherwise, the beach was empty. Judging by the amount of light, I guessed that it was early in the morning. Aphrodite had supplied us with my backpack and Tamara's leather Egyptian bag. She sighed with relief when she saw it, obviously more relaxed now that she had her wand and staff. Between us was Tamara's sword, the silver blade shimmering with magic.

"So, what do we do now?" Tamara asked.

"Well, first of all, we need food. It wouldn't be very wise to go hunting for a cave on an empty stomach."

"True that. And then?"

"We need a map. We can circle the locations of all the caves in Puerto Rico and go search for them."

"Every one of them?" Tamara questioned. "Tina, that's a lot of caves to go check. Some of them may be hard to get to, and we could be wasting valuable time checking all of them. From the sound of it, Isis is just barely keeping the boys alive."

"Well, how do you suggest we find the cave?" I asked her. "I wouldn't know which one it is unless I saw it."

Tamara sighed in frustration. I looked up as an older woman walked by us. She held the leashes of six dogs, all little Chihuahuas. They growled at me and Tamara.

"Oh, that's not very nice, now is it?" the woman said to her dogs. She turned to us and smiled. "I'm sorry, I guess they just got hungry."

I smiled up at the older woman. "That's okay. I know I feel like them when I'm hungry."

The woman looked us over, her eyes flickering over our bags and wet clothes.

"Did you dears sleep out here last night?" she asked in a concerned voice.

"Yes," Tamara said cautiously.

I could see her gears turning as she tried to come up with a cover story.

"We had friends camp out here with us last night, but they had to leave early for something."

The woman nodded her head. "Do you girls need a place to wash up and eat?"

I quivered at the thought of taking a hot shower. That sounded like heaven right now, and a hot meal would be nice.

"Yes, please," Tamara said.

We gathered ours things and followed the lady. She walked down the beach and turned to her left around a huge rock. We followed her, and saw that she was leading us to a wooden shack in the jungle. The whole time we were walking, the lady's six dogs kept trying to run up and bite us. They growled and barked and drool flew from their mouths. We kept asking if the dogs were okay, but the lady only responded with, "They're just hungry. Don't worry."

I began to get a nervous feeling in my stomach. I had _never_ seen dogs act like that when they were hungry. Maybe going with this lady had been a bad idea.

We made it to her little shack, and the lady opened the door for us to enter. Tamara and I glanced at each other nervously before stepping into the dark house. I blinked my eyes, trying to adjust to the lack of light. The main room was small. A tiny kitchen was placed off to the right. It had a small, dirty-white fridge and a huge white cooler placed next to a rusty sink. On the left wall, I saw six tiny little kennels. I assumed that they were for the dogs. A hallway ahead of us led to two rooms. One had a worn down unmade bed in it. The other was a bathroom. The bathtub was rusty and cracked, and all thoughts of having a hot shower evaporated.

"I'm so glad you could come up here!" the woman said cheerfully as she shut the door. "Now I can feed my babies!"

Tamara and I whirled around to look at her.

"Did you say you can feed the dogs now, because we're here?" I asked.

The woman nodded excitedly. "I've been having to feed them cow meat, which tastes similar to demigod flesh. But demigods just have that special, magical taste."

Tamara and I stared at each other with horror filled eyes. We had just walked straight into the home of some monsters. What the monsters were though, I didn't know. I mean, yes I was sure the little Chihuahuas' bites would hurt a little bit, but not enough to kill us.

The dogs were jumping out at us, snarling with their teeth bared. They looked _very_ hungry.

"Okay dears, hold on!" the woman said. She clipped the leashes off of the dogs and they bolted to each other.

Tamara and I stared at them. Had they gotten confused as to who they wanted to eat?

As we watched them, I noticed that they were morphing together and changing. Their legs melted together and started getting bigger. Brown slimy scales replaced their dog fur. Their necks grew longer and longer, and all melted together. The thing grew, and grew, and grew, until finally, we were staring up at a huge, six headed reptile. It hissed at us angrily.

"Um . . . Tina? What is that?" Tamara asked weakly.

"A hydra," I said weakly. "We've walked straight into a hydra's lair."


	4. Chapter Four

**CHAPTER FOUR**

Tamara and I stared up at the monster, our knees shaking at the sheer size of the thing. Its necks were bent in half because of the small space, making the room appear even more cramped. We backed up into the kitchen part of the shack, running into the huge cooler. The monster made its way towards us, its huge claws grinding against the shack's filthy floor. All of the heads growled at us, making it sound more like a lion roaring.

"Oh darlings, if you just let them kill you without a struggle, it will be much less painful!" the woman offered.

I looked at Tamara, trying to send her a message. No way were we going to just give up and die, but getting out of this wasn't going to be easy either. I tried to formulate a plan. The walls of the shack were pretty weak. We could probably break through them easily. But then what? I didn't know the jungle very well, and I had no clue how fast the hydra could run.

The heads hissed at us, and I could see a ball of fire forming in the middle head's throat.

"Dive!" Tamara cried.

I dove to my right as the monster shot a ball of fire at us. It sped straight through the shack's walls and exploded onto a tree in the jungle, setting it on fire.

"Run!" I told Tamara.

We jumped through the smoking hole in the wall and into the jungle. Behind us, I could hear the hydra hiss angrily as we escaped. I looked back to see what it would do, and my foot caught on a vine. I tripped and startled rolling down a hill. I passed Tamara, who put on more speed to try and stop me, but it wasn't any use. I rolled faster and faster down the hill, running over sharp rocks and thorny plants. I felt my leg scrape against something sharp, but I ignored it. I finally hit the trunk of tree with a loud crack, and I gasped. My chest hurt badly, as did my head, thanks to a coconut I had knocked down from the tree.

Tamara, half-way down the hill, was trying desperately to not trip like I had. There was no sign of the hydra behind her, and I wondered if maybe the beast had given up. As soon as the thought popped into my head, however, it evaporated. The trees behind Tamara burst apart and a very angry, brown and scaly monster hissed at us. The old woman had somehow climbed onto the thing's back and she shook her head at us. "You should have just stayed put, girls," she chided. "It would have been much easier."  
Tamara turned away from the monster and rushed over to me. "Tina, are you alright?"

I finally noticed that I was starting to feel light-headed. Black dots were popping up in my vision, and I felt very weak.

"My chest hurts," I managed to breathe out. "And my leg aches."

Tamara looked like she wanted to examine me, but we didn't have time. The hydra was making its way down the hill. Slowly, yes, because of its great size, but it was quickly coming into fireball-shooting-range.

Tamara quickly looked at my leg and her eyes widened. I didn't dare look down, fearing that I would pass out if the damage was severe. I thought back to a few days ago, when Tamara and Dakota had journeyed to find Isis's crown. They had gone into the cave of a giant crocodile named Petsuchos, and the huge monster had managed to bite down on Tamara's leg. Because of it, Tamara now bore a twenty-inch long cut on her left leg that was still heavily bandaged to prevent bleeding. Was my cut as bad?

"Come on," Tamara said. She knelt down and wrapped her arms around my chest. Careful not pain me too much, she managed to lift me up so I was standing.

I tried as much as possible to keep my weight off of my right leg. Looking back at the hydra, I jumped over to the left, pulling Tamara with me. A good thing too, because right where Tamara had been standing was now a fiery crater. Tamara and I, as fast as we could with my injuries, jogged to the sound of the beach. I focused on the water in my head, hoping that maybe a wave could come to me and attack the hydra. I had seen Percy do the same thing at our battle in Hawaii. Though the beach had been miles away, Percy had somehow summoned a twenty-foot tall wave to crash down on Horus.

"Faster!" the old woman cried atop her monster. "It will be harder to kill them on the beach!"

Behind us, I could hear the hydra put on more speed, trying to gain on us. It produced a fireball, and it sailed past us and exploded onto a huge rock. Smoke was clouding the air, and I could hear the crackle of fire behind us. The jungle was on fire.

Twenty-feet away, I spotted the aqua-blue ocean and I sighed, thinking that maybe we could make it. That is, before I found myself rising in the air. One moment, I had been on the jungle ground, hobbling along-side Tamara towards the beach. Now I was in the air, something holding me up from my backpack. Below me, Tamara was pulling something out of her leather bag. Her eyes flashed gold, and she started to rise into her avatar.

Now, if you've never seen Tamara in her avatar, it can be quite scary at first. The very first time she summoned one, Tamara ended up knocking over a stone pillar in Camp Half-Blood's mess hall, which resulted in a piece of stone fracturing my leg. It was nerve wracking whenever Tamara summoned an avatar now. Her eyes turned completely gold, and ancient hieroglyphics started glowing on her arms and legs. And then she rose up into a fifteen-foot avatar that looked like a hologram, but was very much a solid mass.

Tamara held a staff in her hands, her avatar doing the same thing. She swung that staff at the hydra and made contact with three of its heads. The beast screamed, and I felt myself falling. I quickly grasped at its slimy neck and managed to wrap my arms around one of the beast's necks. I clung there, trying desperately to hang on.

All of the hydra's heads turned to look at Tamara. They hissed at her and swung their heads at her torso. Tamara's avatar stumbled over backwards, nearly falling to the ground before she regained her balance.

I placed my foot on the neck I was holding and slowly inched myself around the monster's neck. It was hard, trying to cling to the very thick and slimy neck. Carefully, I managed to move myself around so that I was on the back of the hydra's neck. Below me, the old lady stood on her monster's back, her fist raised as she bounced up and down in excitement. With her bright pink track suit and wispy white hair, she reminded me of a grandmother who got too enthusiastic at sporting events.

The hydra screeched and stumbled as a strong wave of power collided with its body. My hold loosened and I started rapidly sliding down the beast's neck. The woman below me had been thrown backwards, and was now sitting on her butt, looking a little dazed. She quickly snapped herself out of it, however, and said, "Come on, my boys! Don't give up!"

I risked a glance around the neck I was hanging onto and looked at Tamara. Her avatar was flickering and her knees shook. I didn't know how much longer she could go on. I wracked my brain for the story about the hydra. I recalled Annabeth telling me about when she, Percy, and my half-brother Tyson had encountered a hydra. It was a difficult monster to kill, not only because it had so many heads, but because if someone cut one head off, two more would grow back. So that ruled that plan out. I had to think of some other way to defeat the thing.

There was a scream from Tamara, and I peered around the neck. Tamara was no longer in her avatar. Instead, she was on the jungle floor, one hand clutching her _khopesh,_ the other gripping her shoulder. Her knees shook violently, and her head kept bobbing up and down.

"That's it, boys! Finish her off!" the old lady cried.

I gritted my teeth. I had had enough of this lady. I looked down at her, trying to judge the distance between us.

 _Alright,_ I thought. _Here goes nothing._ I released my hold on the beast's neck. The wind whipped at my hair as I plummeted straight for the old lady.

The shock of the landing was what pained me the most. Instead of tucking and rolling onto the monster's back, I kind of slid down the its neck and landed on its back, feet first. I cried out as pain shot up my legs. My vision went black for a few seconds, but I quickly shook my head to clear it.

The old lady looked at me and chuckled. "Tina Gonzalez, the daughter of Poseidon. My, you don't look like much of a hero."

I clenched my fist. "Leave us alone."

The old lady shook her head like I was a pathetic puppy on the streets. Then her eyes, which I hadn't noticed were a bright yellow, started changing shape. They grew into slits, and the black pupils dilated. She literally _hissed_ at me, flicking out a black snake's tongue. Her body started morphing, her torso growing longer, her legs melting together. Dark-brown scales popped out from beneath her skin and spread across her body.

I watched in horror as the old lady turned into a huge, thick and muscular python, at least ten-feet long and as thick around as my thigh. She hissed again, revealing very sharp fangs, already dripping with venom. I gripped the hilt of my sword tightly and stared at the snake, my eyes locked onto her own.

The hydra beneath us stumbled and nearly fell to its knees. I lost my balance and fell backwards. The python, however, used the hydra's stumble to an advantage. The snake propelled herself toward at me and sank her fangs into my already injured leg. I cried out in pain and whacked my sword's blade against the snake's head. She flew off to the side but managed not to slide off.

The hydra roared, and I heard Tamara grunt. I wanted to turn around and see what was happening, but I didn't dare take my eyes off the python. The huge snake stared at me, her tongue flicking in and out of her mouth. I slowly got to me feet, blinking black dots out of my vision, and thought about the ocean. The blue waves as they reached the sandy shore, the power they had as they tumbled through tons and tons of water. The power _I_ had to control those waves. I focused on the water, and I felt something tighten in my stomach. Every part of me strained as I concentrated on the waves. And then, I felt it. I had the ocean at my command.

The python revealed her fangs and suddenly jumped out at me. As she did, I let out a scream and a gigantic wave raced towards me from the ocean. Just as the python was about to sink its fangs into my arm, the wave crashed into her. The water swirled around the snake, and I commanded it to trap the python into a sphere of water. The remaining water crashed down on top of the hydra, who barely even noticed as it battled Tamara.

The python glared at me with her striking yellow eyes and struck the sphere of water, attempting to break the orb. With every strike, I felt myself weakening. I tightened my stomach and raised my arm. The sphere of water mimicked my motions. Then I turned around and thrust my arm out at the ocean. The sphere of water with the python in it sailed through the air and crashed into the ocean. Hopefully that would keep the python away for now.

"Ah!" Tamara screamed as I heard something fall to the ground.

I turned around and saw that the hydra had managed to rip her _khopesh_ out of her hands and toss it to the side. Tamara was now standing in front of the beast, clutching desperately to her boomerang shaped wand. Her face was set hard, and every few seconds a golden glow would encase her before dying out again. She was trying to call back her avatar, but she didn't have the strength to do it.

I felt myself rapidly weakening as well. My legs shook and my right leg felt wet from blood. My whole chest area ached from my broken ribs, and I could feel a knot forming on my head from the stupid coconut.

The hydra below me screeched in triumph. I looked at Tamara and saw her lying at the hydra's feet, unconscious, with her right shoulder smoking and charred. I felt hope escape me at our conditions. Tamara was completely out of commission, and I wasn't doing so well myself. There was no way I would be able to kill the hydra on my own.

 _You have to keep fighting,_ I thought to myself. _You can't give up._ I gripped the hilt of my sword tightly and raised it above my head and with my last remaining strength, I thrust it into the hydra's back.

The hydra let out a scream so terrifying, it scared me. The gigantic monster swung its heads around and they all stared at me in anger. The middle one opened its mouth and I had just enough time to roll of the thing's back before it shot a fireball at me. My chest screamed with pain as I hit the hard ground, and I could no longer feel my right leg.

The hydra pulled my sword out of its back and threw it down next to me. Then it stared at me and opened its mouths. I looked into their throats as they came closer and closer, and I knew this was it. I would never see Archer's face ever again. I had failed him.

The hydra's mouths were about five-feet away when I heard a whizzing sound to my right. Something shot through the air and with a sickening squelch, flew into one of the hydra's sides and out the other. The hydra's eyes widened, and it started breathing heavily. The monster stumbled backwards, knocking down trees as it did so, and finally collapsed in a heap of necks.

I looked to my right to see who had saved me, but my vision was already disappearing. I only caught the words of a girl muttering something about stupid Greeks before I blacked out.


	5. Chapter Five

**CHAPTER FIVE**

I woke up to the sound of a crackling fire and the smell of something cooking. Slowly, I opened my eyes and looked around. I was lying on something soft, placed next to a small campfire. Across the fire, I could see Tamara lying on a bed of green leaves. She had a few band-aids on her temple, a new bandage wrapped around her cut leg, and her right shoulder was bandaged with white gauze, something green oozing out of the sides.

Crouching down next to Tamara was a girl. She wore running shoes, jeans, and a purple T-shirt. She was looking at the ground as she mixed something in a wooden bowl. Straight bronze-colored brown hair fell in front of her face like a waterfall. When she looked up, deep dark-brown eyes met mine. I gasped in surprise. They were _exactly_ like Ben's eyes.

The girl placed the bowl down next to Tamara and stood up. She made her way around the fire and knelt next to me.

"Good, you're awake," she said in a husky voice.

"What—what happened?" I asked, my voice weak.

The girl reached over to a bag next to my head and pulled out a small silver container. Popping the lid open, I watched as she pulled bandages away from my right leg and rubbed a mint smelling cream on it.

"The hydra was about to eat you when my friend managed to kill it," the girl said as she worked. "You blacked out right after that, so we carried you and your friend to our campsite and tended to your wounds."

I winced as she reached an especially tender spot on my leg. "Who are you?"

The girl looked up from tending to my leg. "My name is Skylar Troy."

I felt a shiver run down my spine at the sound of her name. _Troy,_ I thought. _Ben's last name is Troy._

The girl reached for her bag yet again, and I saw purple tattoos inked onto the inside of her arm. They looked like copies of the ones Ben bore; the letters SPQR, crossed spears, and four score marks.

SPQR

I I I I

"You're from Camp Jupiter," I said.

Skylar paused what she was doing to look at me. "How did you know that?"

"The marks on your arm, and the purple T-shirt. They're just like Ben's."

Skylar froze, her eyes wide with shock and her muscles tense. "How do you know my brother's name?"

"Your brother?" I asked.

"Yes, my twin brother, Ben. How do you know his name?" she asked again, more demanding this time.

"We met him on a quest, Tamara and I," I said, looking over at Tamara. "We were looking for Zeus, and we met Ben in the Underworld."

Skylar narrowed her eyes as she looked at me, trying desperately to connect the dots. I was trying to as well, perplexed at who Skylar was and her relationship to Ben.

"You met him while on a quest to find Jupiter," she said slowly.

"Yeah."

"And he helped you find and rescue Jupiter, correct?"

I nodded at her.

"So why is he missing?" Skylar asked loudly. "He should have returned to camp days ago. What happened?"

I propped myself up on my elbows and tried to collect my thoughts. How was I supposed to explain the very complicated story to her?

"Okay," I started. "We met your brother in the Underworld. He was looking for the guide to find Zeus, same as Tamara and I, and two other boys.

"The guide led us to Hawaii, and since we were looking for initially the same god, Ben decided to travel with us. When we got to Hawaii, we went up to a mountain that the Egyptian god Horus was keeping Zeus, and we battled Horus and his mother, Isis."

Skylar nodded at me to keep going.

"It turned out that Isis had planted a demon inside Horus's head, which had caused him to go all evil and kidnap Zeus. Once we got the demon out of his head, Horus banished Isis away from us, and we freed Zeus. Then he transported us back to Camp Half-Blood."

"I don't understand," Skylar asked, puzzled. "You completed your quest. So why is my brother missing?"

"Ben was staying the night at Camp Half-Blood and was going to return to Camp Jupiter the next day, but one of the boys that had been traveling with me and Tamara decided to switch to Isis's side, and he kidnapped both Ben and my boyfriend, Archer. Now we're here in Puerto Rico, searching for them."

Skylar stared into the flames of the fire, trying to control her breathing. "And who was this boy who kidnapped my brother?"

"His name is Dakota Storm. He's an Egyptian."

Skylar tensed at that and clenched her fists. "An _Egyptian_ took Ben?"

I nodded, watching Skylar closely. She looked _really_ angry.

"And why is it that and _Egyptian_ took Ben?" she asked.

I gulped. I had wanted to skip this part of the story, but it seemed that it was unavoidable.

"Dakota caught Ben and Tamara kissing down by the beach. He got angry because Tamara had chosen Ben over him, so he decided to get revenge by taking Ben away."

Skylar whipped her head around to look at me. "My brother was kissing a _Greek_?"

 _Uh oh,_ I thought. _This is not going to be good._ "Um, actually, Tamara is the granddaughter of Zeus, and the daughter of Horus." I said quietly.

Skylar shot to her feet in anger and started pacing back and forth. She clenched and unclenched her fists, trying to get a hold of her anger. I watched her, slightly scared. She looked angry enough to go over to Tamara and kill her right then and there.

"He knows the rules," Skylar said to herself as she paced. "What was he _thinking_ , falling for an Egyptian?"

I silently willed Tamara to keep sleeping. If she woke up now, I didn't know what Skylar would do to her.

Skylar paced back and forth five more times before finally slowing to a stop. She looked at me with her chocolate-brown eyes and said, "So, let me get this straight. _That_ girl over there," she said, pointing to Tamara. "Is the granddaughter of Zeus."

"Right," I said slowly.

"And she's the daughter of the Egyptian war god Horus, correct?"

I nodded in agreement.

"I'm guessing this Dakota Storm was sent to help Tamara with her magic."

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. Skylar figured out things fast.

"So that leaves you and your boyfriend." Skylar said, crossing her arms and waiting for an explanation.

"My boyfriend, Archer, is the son of Apollo," I said. "And I'm Tina, the daughter of Poseidon."

Skylar's arms fell to her sides, and she clenched her jaw.

 _Oh great, now I've angered her out even more!_ I thought.

Skylar finally stopped staring at me and plopped down on the jungle floor, rubbing her temple. I tried to sit up, but cried out in pain. I looked down and saw that underneath my shirt, my torso was wrapped in sturdy bandages.

"You broke four ribs," Skylar explained as she glared at the floor. "I gave you some nectar, but it's going to take a while for everything to heal."

"And my leg?" I asked.

Skylar pursed her lips. "Your leg is pretty bad. You must have fallen and scraped it against a blade or something, and the python's poison is didn't help matters. The cut isn't very deep, but it's wide and long. You're going to have a scar."

I stared at my leg, trying to imagine what it would look like with a permanent scar on it.

"And what about Tamara?" I asked.

Skylar looked at Tamara and scowled. "Well, her already injured leg _was_ healing, but she's torn the skin, so it's going to take longer. She's going to have a scar too. It's her shoulder I'm most concerned about."

"What happened to her?"

"The hydra caught her with a fireball. Her shoulder's been burned badly. I've put a salve on it made from a healing plant here in the jungle, which should help with the scarring, but I don't know by how much."

I looked at Tamara sadly.

The leaves of a plant quivered to my left, and I tensed. Skylar only looked up as another girl entered the campsite. This girl was on the shorter side, maybe five-feet and three-inches. She had a thin but sturdy build, fair skin, light gray eyes, and sleek black hair pulled up in a pony-tail, choppy bangs falling just above her eyes. She carried with her several large logs, which she placed next to the dying campfire.

"She's awake," the new girl said in a deeper voice than I expected.

"Yeah. Sophie, this is Tina, daughter of Poseidon. And Tina, this is Sophie, daughter of Minerva."

I ran through my list of god names in my head, trying to place the Greek version of Minerva.

"Athena," I said. "In Greece, your mother is Athena."

"Very good," Sophie said. She stretched a hand out, and I shook it.

"I have a friend back at Camp Half-Blood who's mother is Athena," I informed them.

Sophie nodded, not very interested in her unknown half-sister, and looked at Skylar. "So, what's going on?"

Skylar told Sophie my story in the shortest way possible. Sophie's jaw clenched upon hearing that Egyptians had taken Ben, and she shook her head when told that Ben and Tamara were now a couple, as though she was ashamed of Ben.

By the time Skylar had finished her short version of my story, Tamara had started to wake up. She groaned and twisted her head around, looking at Skylar, then Sophie, and then finally me.

"What's going on?" Tamara asked. "Tina, who are they?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but before I could get a word out, Skylar answered for me.

"This is Sophie Collins." Skylar gestured to Sophie. "And I'm Skylar Troy."

Tamara's eyes widened with shock at the name Troy. She held her breath and completely froze. We all watched her take the news. I felt a bad for her. It had been quite a shock to me, and I wasn't even dating Ben. But to Tamara . . . I could tell that memories of Ben were flooding back, all too painful to think about because he was no longer there.

Tamara finally looked into Skylar's eyes, and another shudder shook her body. She tried to sit up, and cried out in pain, gripping her burned shoulder and biting her lip. Skylar rushed over to her and had Tamara lie down again. I watched them as Skylar took Tamara's old bandage off her shoulder. What was underneath made my stomach churn.

Tamara's shoulder was a mix of black and bright-red. Most of her skin was red and tender, reminding me of a raw steak, with blood all over it. But on top of her shoulder was all charred black flesh, still sizzling with heat.

Tamara twisted her head to look at her shoulder, and her face went as white as a sheet. I could see tears in her eyes.

Sophie knelt down next to me and stirred something that was in a pot next to the fire.

"So, you know a daughter of Athena?" she asked me.

I tore my gaze away from Tamara's shoulder and looked at Sophie. I couldn't see any resemblance between her and Annabeth, except for their eyes.

"Yeah," I answered her. "Annabeth Chase. She's my brother's fiancee."

Sophie looked at me with interest. "Is she marrying Percy Jackson by any chance?" she asked.

"How did you know?"

"They visit Camp Jupiter sometimes. They have friends who live there."  
"They have friends at Camp Jupiter?" I asked.

Sophie nodded. "Several years ago, the goddess Juno, or in your case Hera, swapped Percy with a son of Jupiter named Jason Grace. The goddess Gaea was wakening from her deep sleep and calling her giant children up to destroy Rome and Greece. Seven demigods, including Percy and Annabeth, helped defeat her."

"I thought the Greeks and Romans tried to stay away from each other?"

"They did, but when Juno swapped Percy and Jason, the two camps had no choice but to cooperate. It's still a little tense between the Greeks and Romans, but we're friendlier towards each other now."

I lay there, mulling over what she had said. It seemed that everyone knew Percy and Annabeth, like they were famous demigods, legends even.

"Here, you need to eat," Sophie said. She helped me sit up, placing several objects behind me to support my back. Then she spooned food out of the pot and into a tin bowl and handed it to me.

The smell of it made my mouth water, and my insides grumbled. It took a bite and enjoyed the feeling of warm soup sliding down my throat.

"Thank you, for taking care of us," I said to Sophie.

She looked at me and gave me a half-smile. "Well, we couldn't just let you and your friend die, now could we?" Sophie stood up and grabbed a bow and arrow that had been resting against a tree.

The sight of the weapon made my heart ache, reminding me of Archer and his skill with bows.

"Skylar, I'm going for more food. We'll need to pack well while searching for Ben, and Archer," she added, looking at me.

I smiled in thanks and returned to eating my soup. Sophie walked back into the dense jungle to go hunting. Skylar was still with Tamara. Her shoulder was now wrapped up in gauze again, more of the green salve oozing out from beneath her bandages. Skylar sat next to Tamara, and they were talking quietly. Skylar's body had relaxed, and her voice no longer had a sharpness in it. I took that as a good sign.

I looked around at the rest of the area. We were in a small clearing that was surrounded by coconut trees. Two backpacks were placed a few feet away from the campfire, one a blood-red and the other a royal-blue. The red one was zipped open, and I could see salves, creams, ointments, bandages, and bags of ambrosia and nectar inside. Along with the First-Aid stuff were several sheathed knives and small black pistols. Lying next to the backpack was a sheathed sword. There was no doubt in my mind that Skylar was a child of Mars. It was such a shift from Ben, who had only carried a sword with him while on our quest.

 _Unless he had stuff concealed,_ I thought, a very likely possibility. I remembered him carrying a backpack, and now I was convinced that it had been filled with First-Aid supplies and several weapons as well.

I stuck my hand inside my pocket and with relief found my hairpin. It had magical properties that made it return to my pocket no matter where I lost it, but it was still comforting to find it with me.

"Okay," Skylar said, raising her voice so I could hear. She stood up from her seat next to Tamara. "We're going to stay here for the night, that will give the two of you time to heal. And then, Tamara said you had a dream about a cave?" she asked, addressing me.

"Yeah, I did. I have no idea where it is though."

"It doesn't matter. At least we now have a clue as to where Ben and Archer are."

I spark of hope ignited inside of me. Maybe we could find Ben and Archer after all, if Skylar and Sophie helped.

"You guys should try and get some more sleep," Skylar suggested. "You'll want to be fully healed for tomorrow."

Tamara and I nodded, and we both laid down on our blankets of leaves. After a couple of minutes, Tamara had fallen back asleep, twitching occasionally at the pain in her shoulder.

I stared up at the palm trees rising above us. Colorful birds flew from tree to tree, singing beautiful songs. I didn't think I would be able to fall back asleep, not with the renewed hope of finding Archer. But eventually, my brain finally managed to command my eyes to close, and I fell into a deep sleep with Archer in my dreams.


End file.
